History Commons^™

“The Road Less Travelled”: The Longevity Of Anti-Apartheid Activism In The Life Of Helen Joseph (1905-1992), Sadie Marchesseault

Honors Program Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Peacemaking And Peacebuilding In A Divided Society: South Africa’S National Peace Accord In The Transition From Apartheid To Democracy, Liz Carmichael

New England Journal of Public Policy

South Africa’s complex history is outlined, providing an explanatory background to the two chief conflicts that existed in 1990 as the apartheid era drew to a close: the divide between the government with its security forces and the majority of the population, and grassroots violence between African National Congress supporters and the conservative Inkatha movement. During the 1990s, as South Africa accomplished its transition, a series of structures were created to manage the process. The best remembered is the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was the final transitional structure, holding its hearings in 1996–98. The first was the National Peace …

The Sharpeville Massacre, Violence, And The Struggles Of The African National Congress, 1960-1990, Reese W. Hollister

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

During the long process of decolonization in South Africa, the Sharpeville Massacre was a turning point for the African National Congress' decision to begin using violence for the internal resistance to apartheid. Nelson Mandela and the ANC reacted to the Sharpeville Massacre by shifting their methods to incorporate the practicality of anti-colonial violence. In his 1964 "I Am Prepared to Die" speech, Mandela acknowledged that peaceful resistance was met with brutal force, and this could not go on. The ANC continued its strong non-violent resistance while also developing a military wing and conducting sabotage. This essay brings into question the …

Dependency Politics In A South African Bantustan: The National Party, Inkatha, And The Zulu People, 1975-1990, Joshua Shepley

Major Papers

By the late 1980s, the apartheid structures of the racially segregated Republic of South Africa were fracturing. The ruling National Party’s Bantustan system, whereby the living spaces of the majority African population were restricted to discrete zones according to their ethnic subgroup, had been failing for decades. In order to understand the outbreak of violence that took place in South Africa’s townships in the midst of this breakdown of apartheid society, the relationships that developed within these Bantustans must first be addressed. The most consequential of these relationships developed within KwaZulu, the “homeland” of Zulu Africans, beginning in the early …

“Why Invest In Racism?”: Anti-Apartheid Activism At The University Of Illinois, 1977-1987, Shane Smith

Student Honors Theses

On February 11, 1990, Nelson Mandela walked out of prison a free man after being held captive for over 27 years. Crowds roared with joyfulness as their beacon of hope pumped his right fist in the air triumphantly. The international community watched the occasion with hope and a feeling of success after the assistance in the struggle to bring down the brutal regime of apartheid. This inspiring movement took decades of unified activism from both South Africans and local, grassroots organizations to bring the system down. Amidst the ongoing Cold War politics and other international issues, dismantling apartheid proved to …

Law Library Blog (July 2022): Legal Beagle Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

Reading The Signs Of The Time: Three Voices In The Confessional Lutheran Church As They Relate To Segregation, Racism, And Apartheid In South Africa From 1900–1978, Christoph Dietrich Weber

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Weber, Christoph, Reading the signs of the time: “Three voices in the confessional Lutheran Church to segregation, racism, and apartheid in South Africa from 1900–1978.” Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2022. 425 pp.

According to August Vilmar, reading the signs of the times was an essential task of all pastors and theologians. It was a part of their prophetic task to interpret the world and its context with the word of God and to proclaim the voice of the church in law and gospel. The three theologians analyzed in this dissertation: Karl Meister, Hermann Sasse, and Friederich W. Hopf respected Vilmar …

Cannot Afford To Publicly Surrender: The Public's Influence On Ronald Reagan's Strategic Relationship With South Africa, Jessica P. Forsee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Reagan’s administration used the policy of constructive engagement to bring gradual reform to the apartheid system and build peace in the southern African region. The coordination of anti-apartheid activist organizations and members advocating for harsher economic pressure on South Africa successfully raised US public awareness and shifted public opinion against constructive engagement’s gradualist policies. As a result, leading Reagan staffers like Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Chester Crocker recalibrated constructive engagement’s focus to quicken regional peacebuilding maintain stability and control of US foreign policy in the public eye. This thesis analyzes the early influences on constructive engagement and …

“Remov[E] Us From The Bondage Of South Africa:” Transnational Resistance Strategies And Subnational Concessions In Namibia's Police Zone, 1919-1962, Michael R. Hogan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Between 1919 and 1962, the South African government implemented ever more restrictive segregationist and apartheid policies in South West Africa that attempted to control and monitor the social, political, and economic development of Namibians living in South West Africa’s Police Zone. This dissertation examines the transnational resistance campaigns and strategies developed by Namibians living in the Police Zone and their attempts to dissolve and frustrate the colonial state’s implementation of these policies. Particular focus is paid to such transnational institutions/actors as the League of Nations, the Universal Negro Improvement Association, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the United Nations, and international …

Kofifi/Covfefe: How The Costumes Of "Sophiatown" Bring 1950s South Africa To Western Massachusetts In 2020, Emma Hollows

Masters Theses

This thesis paper reflects upon the costume design process taken by Emma Hollows to produce a realist production of the Junction Avenue Theatre Company’s musical Sophiatown at the Augusta Savage Gallery at the University of Massachusetts in May 2020. Sophiatown follows a household forcibly removed from their homes by the Native Resettlement Act of 1954 amid apartheid in South Africa. The paper discusses her attempts as a costume designer to strike a balance between replicating history and making artistic changes for theatre, while always striving to create believable characters.

Inkatha, Propaganda, And Violence In Kwazulu-Natal In The 1980s And 90s, Michael Macinnes

Voces Novae

In 1980s and 1990s, Apartheid was entering its twilight in South Africa but a state of low density civil war existed in the province of KwaZulu-Natal between the African National Congress/United Democratic Front and Inkatha. This paper seeks to come to a better understanding of the violence of this time period and in this region by exploring the factors that motivated individual Inkatha supporters to engage in violence. The motivation factors discussed in this paper are Political Propaganda, Coercion, and Opportunistic Violence.

“We Are Worried Mothers:” A Panel Of “Ordinary South Africans” On Us Capitol Hill, Myra Ann Houser

Articles

In 1986, a “panel of ordinary South Africans” addressed members of the US Congress. Their visit did not command as much attention as would the visit of (future president) Nelson Mandela in 1990 or as did (former prime minister) Jan Smuts in 1930. Yet, for an increasing number of Americans watching closely, it represented a momentous public rebuttal to apartheid. The visit responded to ongoing celebrity protests and built public support for sanctions. While many Americans instigating “designer arrests” believed that they spoke for South Africans, in 1986, physicians, activists, and children who had faced detention spoke for themselves on …

Inkatha, Propaganda, And Violence In Kwazulu-Natal In The 1980s And 90s, Michael Macinnes

War, Diplomacy, and Society (MA) Theses

The 1980s and 1990s marked the beginning of the end of Apartheid in South Africa but before the first fully democratic election in 1994, the KwaZulu-Natal region was being torn apart by a low level civil war. This conflict was not the black majority fighting against white minority, but part of so-called black on black violence. One side was the African National Congress (ANC) and the United Democratic Front (UDF) and on the other was Inkatha, secretly backed by the Apartheid state. Originally a Zulu nationalist liberation movement aligned with the ANC, Inkatha separated with the ANC over issues of …

“Communism May Be The Only Alternative If America Walks Away”: The Reagan Administration And The Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act Of 1986, Abby Townend

Senior Projects Spring 2020

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

The South African Women's Movement: The Roles Of Feminism And Multiracial Cooperation In The Struggle For Women's Rights, Amber Michelle Lenser

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the historiography of South Africa’s recent past, focus has been most heavily placed on apartheid and the anti-apartheid movement, with much emphasis placed on male involvement and men as the primary agents of change in the country. Women are largely viewed as playing a supportive role to male activists throughout the movement, and far less has been written on female involvement or women’s activism in its own right. Running parallel to the anti-apartheid movement, however, was a women’s movement characterized by women across the racial and socioeconomic spectrum struggling to secure their own rights in a very hostile and …

Genocide Masquerading: The Politics Of The Sharpeville Massacre And Soweto Uprising, Jessica P. Forsee

Honors College Theses

Apartheid South Africa represented a paradox as a US ally and human rights pariah. “Genocide Masquerading” uncovers the implications of US foreign policy on the rise and decline of apartheid, looking specifically at the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre and the 1976 Soweto Uprising. By comparing Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Ford, and Carter foreign policy responses, this thesis creates a comparative analysis of how effective, or ineffective, the United States was during pivotal moments in apartheid history. This thesis will not only expand on the developing South African literature but add to the conversation of international aid, diplomacy practices, and North-South relationships.

Understanding Violence Against Foreigners In Cape Town: Conceptions Of Autochthony And Xenophobia In Post-Apartheid South Africa, Mary L. Casey

Student Publications

Examining the correlation between the history of colonialism and structures of Apartheid in South Africa and the current xenophobic violence experienced by Black African immigrants settling in Cape Town. This thesis explores theories of autochthony and belonging in the context of Cape Town, Black South African relationships and ownership of land, access to resources and opportunities for employment, and the continued disenfranchisement of Black South Africans in the wake of Apartheid. These components of the issue of xenophobia in Cape Town are factored into an analysis of how and why violence persists against immigrants in the city.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu Finding Aid And Container List, Thomas G. Carpenter Library Special Collections And University Archives, Tammy Druash

Finding Aids and Container Lists

Desmond Tutu is a civil rights activist and theologian from South Africa. He was active in South Africa’s anti-apartheid movement and won the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize as a result of his efforts. He is the former Bishop of Johannesburg and Archbishop of Cape Town, and is currently the Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town. In the spring of 2003 Archbishop Tutu was a visiting professor at UNF and taught 2 classes titled “The Struggle against Apartheid” and “Truth and Reconciliation”. Archbishop Tutu is now retired and resides in Cape Town.

The Call To End Conscription, Commission For Justice And Peace

End Conscription Campaign

A pamphlet with the statement by the South African Catholic Bishops Conference explaining its call to end conscription.

Fast For A Just Peace, End Conscription Campaign

End Conscription Campaign

A pamphlet explaining the End Conscription Campaign’s “Troops out of the Townships” campaign and three week fast. Includes biographies of conscientious objectors, Ivan Toms, Harold Winkler, and Richard Steele.

Deciding About The Army? Conscription Counselling Service, Conscription Counselling Service

End Conscription Campaign

A pamphlet from the Conscription Counselling Service explaining the options for citizens in South Africa who are called to report for national service in the South Africa Defence Force.

Don't Give A War Toy This Christmas, End Conscription Campaign

End Conscription Campaign

A flyer from the End Conscription Campaign advocating against the purchase of children’s toys that resemble weapons for Christmas.

Count The Cost Of War, End Conscription Campaign

End Conscription Campaign

A flyer from the End Conscription Campaign addressing the monetary and emotional costs of the South African Defence Force’s efforts.

Rock Against The War, End Conscription Campaign

End Conscription Campaign

A flyer promoting an event sponsored by the End Conscription Campaign.

What Has The Cost Of The War To Do With The Price Of Eggs?, End Conscription Campaign

End Conscription Campaign

A flyer from the End Conscription Campaign advocating against military spending and a reallocation of those funds to agricultural efforts due to malnutrition and hunger for South African children.

End Conscription Campaign, End Conscription Campaign

End Conscription Campaign

A flyer explaining the beliefs and positions of the End Conscription Campaign.

Stop The Call Up, End Conscription Campaign

End Conscription Campaign

A booklet explaining the End Conscription Campaign’s work and its positions regarding migrant labor, racial classification, detention and security legislation, farming, purchasing power, forced removals, pass arrests, migrant workers, and the South African Defence Force’s involvement with South African townships.

Working For A Just Peace, End Conscription Campaign

End Conscription Campaign

A flyer explaining the End Conscription Campaign’s lobbying efforts.

Conscripts!, End Conscription Campaign Churches' Subgroup

End Conscription Campaign

A pamphlet explaining why the End Conscription Campaign is fasting and praying for conscripts due to the association of the South African Defence Force with apartheid.

Back To School Blues?, End Conscription Campaign

End Conscription Campaign

A pamphlet promoting the End Conscription Campaign’s event to show the movie “Hair” (1979) to open a conversation about war and military service.